Inner sole



Aug. 25, 1936.

J. v. PooLE A' INNER SOLE Filed Jan. 29, 1955 Patented Aug. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE INNER SOLE Application January 29, 1935, Serial No. 3,897

6 Claims.

This invention is concerned with inner soles used in the construction of welt shoes. Such inner soles have ribs for receiving the stitches by which the upper and welt of the shoe are connected to the inner sole, which ribs have been commonly made either integral with the body substance, or from an originally separate strip of material connected to the body part of the inner sole by suitable means. Such ribs have been also reinforced by a sheet or a strip of cotton duck fitted into the inner angle between the rib and the body surface, and cemented to the contiguous surfaces of rib and body. The new step in which the present invention resides is applicable both to inner soles having integral ribs so reinforced, and to those having attached separate ribs with and without the reinforcement.

In the making of inner soles with attached ribs, the means of attachment heretofore used have included both stitches and adhesives. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the stitches applied at the inner side of the attached ribs for effecting the sewed connection have always been applied insuch a way as to pass entirely through the body of the inner sole and to eX- pose connecting lengths of thread on the inner surface of the body: that is, the surface which is exposed inside of the finished shoe, and with which the sole of the wearers foo-t comes in contact. The threads thus exposed are uncomfortable to the wearer unless covered by a sock lining. But the provision and application of such sock linings increase the cost of the shoes, and they are not satisfactory because they break loose before the shoe has been worn very long.

The use of cement instead of stitches to secure these attached ribs avoids the objection above mentioned with respect to stitches; but it has the objection, on the other hand, that it is not strong enough in all cases, wherefore manufacturers frequently use a reinforcement of the Gem type (that is, a shoe fabric covering the entire area of the inner sole bounded by the rib), to prevent the rib being torn away from the body.

What I have sought and accomplished by the present invention is: to obtain the security of union between rib and body due to stitches, with a minimum of stitching and without exposing any of the stitches or connecting lengths of thread between stitches, on the inner surface of the inner sole. The invention resides in means for accomplishing this object, not only in combination with a separate attached rib, but also as a means for anchoring reinforcement in combination with either an integral or an at. tached rib.

'The precise nature of the invention is set forth inthe following specification in terms of illustrative specific embodiments of it, and in con-y nection with the accompanying drawing. In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view, showing the outer or bottom sidev of an inner sole with attached rib in which the invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a side View of such inner sole;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2, and scale;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the use of the new step of the invention in combination with an integral rib;

Fig. 5 .is a similar View, showing lthe invention in combination with an attached rib and an inner reinforcing'strip.l

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the letter a represents the body portion of an inner sole, and b represents an attached rib. The specific rib shown ,inv these views is a composite structure of cotton duck-folded double to embrace an inserted stiening strip c, and having outturned base flangesd and e, which extend respectively toward and away from the edges of the body. These flanges are cemented to the adjacent surfaces of the body.

A variety of materials are useful for the body, such as natural leather, so-called artificial leather of various constructions, leather board, etc. A variety of adhesives (all comprehensively within the term cement as used in this specication) may be used. Preferably, however, in the interest of economy the cement employed is of a type which will dry or set quickly enough to hold the rib in place as soon as it is applied.

'I'he new step which I have devised consists in additionally connecting the rib to the body by a sewed seam, the stitches f of which extend from the inner angle between the lip and body to the edge of the body` Such stitches may be made and placed by sewing machines using either a straight or curved needle, and the seam may be of the chain stitch type or the lock stitch type. When made with a chain stitch, the needle is preferably driven from the edge of the sole to the inner lip angle, in order that the thread groupings which form the lock chain will lie within this angle, rather than on the edge. However, this is not an essential feature, and the seam may be shown on a larger sewed in the opposite manner. It is within my contemplation also to cut a boundary groove or channel in the sole edge to receive and more or less conceal the outer parts of the stitches.

It will be apparent that the stitches thus formed are amply strong and secure to give great connecting strength, in addition to the bond created by the layer of cement. Indeed, the cement need be only suiciently strong to hold the rib until the stitches have been placed and the latter may be relied on entirely for the strength to hold the rib during sewing of the inseam, and afterwards throughout the wearing life of the shoe. Enough of the substance of the sole is embraced by the stitches to prevent tearing away of the edge part of the body, even under exceptionally severe stress.

As the stitches run to the edge of the sole, they are covered, protected and concealed by the upper inthe finished shoe. They are not exposed on the inner surface of the inner sole but leave the latter clear, smooth and uninterrupted, comfortable to the foot of the wearer, and requiring no sock lining to cover them.

Fig. 4 shows the same new step applied to an inner sole of the so-called economy type, of which the rib isi in part integral with the body, and in part formed. by a reinforcing strip. The body is channel inwardly from the edge and outwardly from interior points to lines near the base of the rib location, and the naps g and h of the channels so made are turnedk up and cemented together. The reinforcing strip y' is tucked into the inner .rib angle and cemented against the inner face of the rib and against the bottom of the inner channel. It is further secured by stitches f of the character first described.

' Fig. 5 shows another variation, in which a rib strip 7cV with an outturned ski-ved base flange is cemented to the inner sole body, and is reinforced on the inner side by a bent strip l of duck or equivalent material essentially like the reinforce i of Fig. 4. vThe reinforce Z is similarly secured by stitches f2, running from the inner rib angle to the edge of the sole'.

With the secure attachment afforded by stitches so placed, reinforcing strips, such as the strips 7" and l, are sufficient to give all the support and tiei-ng strength needed to ribs of the character shown in Fig. 4, even though the channel flaps y and h are thin andA of weak material; or to rib strips of the type shown in Fig. 5, even though the cement bond" is weak of itself.

An important feature is that kthe inner sole body need not be channeled in order to cover and conceal the stitches within the shoe. It is possible, and desirable in the case of particularly thin body stock, to set the outer parts of the stitches nearer to the inner surface of the body than to the outer surface, foi` obvious reasons. It is also desirable to set the inner elements of the stitches as low down with respect to the base of the rib as possible, in order to avoid cutting them by the needle or awl of the inseaming machine.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A ribbed inner sole, including a strip cemented to the body of the inner sole and connecting stitches passing through the base part of such strip from the inner angle between the rib and sole to the outer edge of the sole in a location between the top and bottom faces thereof.

2. An inner sole, comprising a body, an attached rib having an inner base flange, and stitches passing through such flange adjacent to the base of the rib to the edge of the body, in location between the top and bottom faces of the body.

3. An inner sole', having a stitch receiving rib, an angular reinforcing strip conforming to the inner angle between said rib and the body part of the inner sole, and stitches passing through the reinforcing strip and'extending from the same to the edge of the sole.

4. An inner sole', consisting of a body having an integralV rib, a reinforcing strip fitting and cemented within the inner angle of such rib,` and a connecting seam comprising stitches passing from the edge of the inner sole to the inner angle of such reinforcing strip.

5.V An inner sole, comprising a body, a rib strip with an outturned flange cemented to one face of the body, a reinforcing strip tted within the inner angie of said rib and cemented thereto and toA the adjacent face of the body, and stitches passing through said reinforcing strip adjacent to' the angle thereof', and extending thence to the edge of the body.

6. An inner sole comprising a body and a stitchreceptive rib, the rib including a base ange extending away from the nearer edges of the body and cemented to the adjacent surface of the body, and stitches pass-ing from a location substantially in the angle between such base iiange and the upstanding part of the ribl to the adjacent edge of the body.

' JESSE V. POOLE. 

